Unfortunately, it is, it was and it will always be necessary to spy on people who are suspicious of committing a crime. Proper surveillance has saved uncountable lives.
Years ago, police was using cameras and directional microphones. But as technology evolves, the methods to prevent crime have to envolve as well. To not allow the police to use the same technology as the criminals would actually endanger stability of the society. If you don't agree, have a look at what happened and happens in Africa all the time as an extreme example to what happens it mankind lives without proper regulations.
The key point that needs to be discussed is not whether this kind of technology should be used, it's how and who is allowed to use it. Countries need a proper separation of powers. And the use of surveillance should only under any circumstances be approved by the independed jurisdiction.
Personally, if you can get one pedophile or terrorist I wouldn't care if the whole police of Germany would share my Jena Jameson collection.
Apple is now worse then Microsoft ever was. Because they're more snaky in putting the thumbscrews on the customers. The true face of Apple is an ugly one. I'm not saying Google or Facebook or Microsoft don't focus on making money on the expense of the customers and on the expense of the freedom of the internet. But I really fail to understand why some of you guys seem to see Steve Jobs as a hero. Are you aware that the direction Steve Jobs and all the big companies are heading to is to force people to buy an app for 5 dollars to write a comment on Hackker News? And as an extra premium they sell your private data to allow other companies rise the prices to the max.
To me Apple has reached a new all time low as they sued Samsung with photoshoped pictures as if Apple had invented the tablet. They made the first great one, but they did not invent it.
Even though I would prefer Meego all the way, I agree that Nokia and WP7 could be extraordinary. They could mark the standard for business phones. Hardware like the Nokia E7 and full MS office integration. At our company (big car company) they're rolling out iPhones to the management which is just ridiculous.
Microsoft needs more then a horde of clone phones. Maybe MS and Nokia can create something special that helps both? (Yes, MS wouldn't do HTC, Samsung etc. a favour with special Nokia treatment).
But you're right, Android is certainly more market proven, but also more ordinary.
I still fail to understand why Nokia doesn't get it done with Software. I mean, look at Meego. Maybe I'm naive but I was really expecting more progress. I thought they were set to go. All they need is development power. Get their Meego core run on selected hardware. Do they put enough ressources there? Are there politics with Intel going on? It is so important to get going. They should know it and put $$ there. All we hear from Nokia is news about Symbian being supported more, which is not really promotion in my opinion. Look at RIM. Look what they do with their playbook and QNX. So much more progress than Nokia.
We need diversity and competition in the mobile market. Currently Apple and Google squeeze the money out of our wallets.
(And we need more Qt ;-))
Interesting. In Germany you can still distinct clearly the former eastern part, which has less facebook activity. You see the 'island' of Berlin, though. For your informaion: The union of Germany was 20 years ago...
Anyway, I'm not a fan of facebook, google and the like, as it's not obvious that the consumer pays the big bill in the end. People think of great, free services but all the billions those company make come secretly from our pockets. (Via created consumer trends, higher prices that other companies can take due to the consumer information they buy from facebook)
Often it's a vicious circle. You're shy, introverted with a lack of self esteem. So you start avoiding social interaction. Also if you're in an interaction you can't enjoy it. You often are afraid to act non-conformal. Avoidance leads to less self-esteem and social skills and so on.
You need to tackle the problem on all fronts.
1) This is about your learned behaviour. You have to relearn. As some mentioned before, do some training. Stuff like going out alone. There're programs for stuff like that. Do it professional! That's the most important thing right now in your life! Don't rely only on internet ressource, even if they can be a great inspiration. Go to a therapist if you think that your shyness (or social phobia) is a problem, e.g. if you can't go to salsa dancing because you're to shy. You must break the avoidance circle.
2) Work on your own thinking process. Often, people don't know their own needs or don't dare to stand up for them and try to compensate by being great to get attention. That's a dead-end street. If you don't understand how you "work", the training ( 1) ) can only be of shallow impact. It's really important to unveil your thougts and emotions. I like the Yoga approach very much. To me, it's sound and practical. swamij.com is the greatest resource on the planet. It's a lot and takes time to understand. You could start at the articles about Karma. The kind of awareness and unattachment you step by step achieve makes you stronger. Stronger to understand and handle your legitimate desires. (which does not mean, supress them. In your case, don't supress your loneliness but go out to socialise. But overcome your fear and go to the salsa dancing event.)
Most of the time desktop apps and web apps serve completely different purposes. Desktop apps do not intend to be flashy or beautiful, they need to be usable for getting things done. They should follow the conventions of the OS, be fast and intuitive. So when a GUI developer creates a GUI that is highly usable and not showing off with eye candy, the GUI developer has done his job properly. Saying "they get away with it" because desktop GUIs are ugly is just wrong.
Web sites often need to draw attentation. They want to sell something, be interesting. They should be flashy and beautiful.
Years ago, police was using cameras and directional microphones. But as technology evolves, the methods to prevent crime have to envolve as well. To not allow the police to use the same technology as the criminals would actually endanger stability of the society. If you don't agree, have a look at what happened and happens in Africa all the time as an extreme example to what happens it mankind lives without proper regulations.
The key point that needs to be discussed is not whether this kind of technology should be used, it's how and who is allowed to use it. Countries need a proper separation of powers. And the use of surveillance should only under any circumstances be approved by the independed jurisdiction.
Personally, if you can get one pedophile or terrorist I wouldn't care if the whole police of Germany would share my Jena Jameson collection.